OSLO; July 14, 2008 – The Brønnøysund Register Centre has awarded Accenture (NYSE: ACN) a new contract to continue development and operation of Altinn, Norway’s citizen-centric online portal. The new phase of development, known as Altinn II, includes a three-year contract valued at approximately US$44.4 million (230 million Norwegian Kroner) covering application development and continued management of the e-government portal, with the option for three one-year extensions.
Under the Altinn II contract, Accenture will provide a new phase of application development and management of Altinn, which is based on Microsoft .NET technology. The new contract will encompass implementation of a simplified user interface, collaboration services, an advanced security solution, and operation of the portal service.
The Altinn portal service was initiated by the Norwegian government in 2002 to simplify the interaction between government, businesses and citizens by providing a single electronic channel for written communications with the public sector, enabling businesses and citizens to communicate with multiple government agencies through a single point of submission.
“Through the Altinn II initiative the Norwegian Government demonstrates its focus and long term commitment for Norway to create world class eGovernment. Altinn II will help achieve this, states Erik Fossum,” director of the Brønnøysund Register Centre.
Roy Grønli, managing director of Accenture’s Public Service practice in Norway, said, “The Altinn II solution adopts a business and citizen-centric, value driven approach that will continue to transform the way the Norwegian government interacts with both businesses and citizens. We look forward to building on our successful relationship with the Brønnøysund Register Centre with the development and implementation of Altinn II.”
The Altinn portal became fully operational in the spring of 2004 and has been highly successful in meeting Norway’s objectives for citizen-centric e-government services. For example:
• According to 2007 statistics, 78 percent of Norway’s business enterprises and self-employed workers submitted their tax returns electronically via Altinn;
• More than 90 percent of Norwegian companies have submitted required shareholder documentation via the portal;
• The number of Value Added Tax reports submitted electronically by Norwegian businesses has increased from 5 percent in 2001 to almost 80 percent this year and continues to increase; and
• More than 30 million forms, such as tax returns, have been submitted via the user-friendly portal.
Accenture and Avanade, a global IT consultancy dedicated to the Microsoft platform, designed Altinn using Microsoft .NET and other core components from the Microsoft technology platform.
About Accenture
Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. With more than 180,000 people in 49 countries, the company generated net revenues of US$19.70 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2007. Its home page is www.accenture.com.
Contact:
Claus Wilkki
+45 (7228) 8094
Claus.Wilkki@accenture.com